Kelly Riegler’s face lights up as she combs through rack upon rack of clothing.
There’s a never-worn Anthropologie dress with the tags still on; floral frocks by Kate Spade and Ted Baker; a pleated gold skirt by Tory Burch (perfect for holiday parties); and a vintage Lacoste sweater that would fetch a fortune on eBay.
“I’ve been thrifting for over 30 years,” she says with authority. Star of the web series Garage Sale Diaries, Riegler knows her fashion designers and she knows a good deal when she sees one.
“You get a high when you find something that you couldn’t really afford in the (retail) store,” she says.
Riegler is a long-time volunteer with Harvest Project, a non-profit organization that supports North Shore residents facing difficult life circumstances. Among its programs, Harvest Project operates the Clothes For Change thrift shop, which sells second-hand clothing and accessories for adults out of its headquarters on Roosevelt Crescent in North Vancouver.
Riegler has been busy in recent weeks identifying and separating some of the higher-end items donated to Clothes for Change to sell at a special designer pop-up sale the first weekend of December.
This marks the second time Harvest Project has hosted a pop-up thrift sale. The first one in September, which they barely promoted, raised $1,600 in just three hours.
“It was very successful,” Riegler says. “All of the money made goes directly back here.”
Harvest Project is currently supporting 300 families on the North Shore at a cost of $200 a month each. Support programs co-ordinator Philippe Segur explains that the monthly $200 actually represents “over $1,000 of benefits” – including about $600 worth of food, $200 worth of clothing, plus counselling.
The non-profit organization hopes the designer sale will attract new bargain-seeking shoppers through its doors who will discover the Clothes For Change thrift shop en route to the pop-up shop event upstairs.
“It’s a great store, but it’s a hidden gem,” Riegler says, noting the neighbourhood doesn’t get a whole lot of foot traffic.
Her message to shoppers is: “Thrift an outfit and change a life.”
“You don’t get that feeling when you’re at the mall because the money here goes back to someone who really needs it, so it’s a nice fulfilling feeling.”
Harvest Project hopes to start holding designer pop-up sales regularly, whenever they’ve accumulated enough designer-label garments to fill a few racks.
The Clothes For Change Pop-up Thrift Sale takes place Dec. 2 and 3, 10 a.m.-2 p.m. upstairs at Harvest Project, 1073 Roosevelt Cr., North Vancouver. In the meantime, the charity is accepting donations of new or gently used men’s and women’s designer and high-end clothing to sell at the event.
Follow @clothes_for_change on Instagram to keep abreast of what’s new in store.
